Treaty of Kadesh

Overview

The Treaty of Kadesh (~1259 BCE) between Egypt and the Hittite Empire is the earliest known surviving international peace treaty. Also known as the Eternal Treaty or Silver Treaty, it ended decades of conflict between the two great Bronze Age powers. The name "Treaty of Kadesh" is informal — the treaty text itself does not mention the Battle of Kadesh. @t[~1259 BCE]

Key Facts

Date: ~1259 BCE (some scholars cite 1258 BCE) @t[~1259 BCE]
Parties: Egypt (Ramesses II) and Hittite Empire (Hattusili III)
Context: Followed the Battle of Kadesh (~1274 BCE), approximately 15 years later @t[~1274 BCE]
Languages: Egyptian hieroglyphic and Akkadian cuneiform
Original medium: Silver tablets (now lost); surviving versions are copies

Terms

Mutual non-aggression pact
Defensive alliance against third-party attacks
Extradition of political refugees (with humane treatment clause)
Mutual recognition of borders in Syria ¹
Divine witnesses invoked; violations threatened with divine punishment ²

Physical Record

Egyptian version: Inscribed on temple walls at Karnak and the Ramesseum (Thebes)
Hittite version: Cuneiform clay tablets discovered at Hattusa in 1906 by German archaeologist Hugo Winckler; two tablets now held at the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul ²
Both versions are translations of the original silver tablets exchanged between the parties

Significance

Earliest known surviving peace treaty for which both parties' versions survive; an earlier diplomatic treaty between Ebla and Abarsal (~2350 BCE) predates it but is not classified as a peace treaty ³
A copy hangs in the United Nations headquarters in New York as a symbol of diplomacy
Both Egyptian and Hittite versions survive (discovered at Karnak and Hattusa) ⁴
Later sealed by a diplomatic marriage: Maathorneferure, daughter of Hattusili III, married Ramesses II in his Year 34 (~1246 BCE) @t[~1246 BCE] ³
Ushered in a prolonged period of peace and cooperation, allowing Ramesses II to focus on monumental building projects ²

Beckman, G. Hittite Diplomatic Texts (1999) ↩︎
Wikipedia, "Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian%E2%80%93Hittite_peace_treaty ↩︎
World History Encyclopedia, "The Battle of Kadesh & the First Peace Treaty", https://www.worldhistory.org/article/78/the-battle-of-kadesh--the-first-peace-treaty/ ↩︎
Bryce, T. Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East (2003) ↩︎

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